How the Garcia Girls Spent Their Summerpick

Three strong women given a chance to come alive—what a concept!

By Matt Pais

Metromix
May 15, 2008

Critic's Rating:
4

How the Garcia Girls Spent Their Summer
America Ferrera in "How the Garcia Girls Spent Their Summer"
Photos:
A scene from the film "How the Garcia Girls Spent their Summer." A scene from the film "How the Garcia Girls Spent their Summer." A scene from the film "How the Garcia Girls Spent their Summer." A scene from the film "How the Garcia Girls Spent their Summer."
How the Garcia Girls Spent Their Summer
Running time:
128 minutes
Rated:
R
Cast:
Elizabeth Peña -
America Ferrera -
Lucy Gallardo -
Jorge Cervera Jr. -
Rick Najera -
See full cast
Director:
Georgina Garcia Riedel
Overall User Rating:
2 (2 ratings)
Write a review
Teenage girl Blanca (America Ferrera), her divorced mother Lolita (Elizabeth Pena) and her grandmother Dona Genoveva (Lucy Gallardo) pursue a variety of sexual opportunities during one hot summer in a small Arizona border town.

Big question:
Does this look at three generations of women in a Mexican-American family honor its subject while speaking to a wider audience?

Catch it:
The chase, the games, the seduction—these are universal experiences that play out in different ways and at different times for everyone. This debut feature from writer-director Georgina Riedel is an unusually mature depiction of female sexuality, daring to show women at 40 (or 70) seeking pleasure and recognizing the tingling excitement of feeling young and desired at any age.

Skip it: If you're uncomfortable seeing these gals struggling with loneliness and baser emotions while trying to determine if guys are only interested in one thing. Of course, it's easy to see that it applies to one bonehead after he declares, "What I would do to hips like yours."

Bottom line:
Richness turns to routine when Lolita's sleazy ex-husband swings by and when Blanca gets slapped after talking back to her mother. Yet none of this is overdone; they're just the conventional valleys in an honest, sophisticated and very well-acted film that, like its heroines, is unafraid to be itself and make a mistake.

Bonus: It bears repeating: "Garcia Girls" is a sex-related, culturally specific and female-oriented drama that doesn't try to mine comedy from stereotypes, judge its women or suggest that all guys can't be trusted. Tell your friends!

SHOWTIME LISTINGS

Movie theaters and showtimes for How the Garcia Girls Spent Their Summer in Chicago.

Narrow search by zipcode:

No Results for How the Garcia Girls Spent Their Summer

Movie reviews

Movie reviews

Catch up on recent film reviews you might have missed the first time around.